Take Arvind Jain, for example. A soft-spoken computer scientist with a jeweler’s focus and a nose-to-the-grindstone work ethic, Arvind manages Google’s R&D team in Bangalore.

Quite a change for someone whose boyhood dreams had oscillated between becoming a doctor and producing movies. Keen to leave his small town in Rajasthan province, Arvind had applied to IIT, alma mater of India’s engineering elite. Although he’d never been particularly studious as a teenager, Arvind aced the fiercely competitive entrance exam, surprising himself – and dumbfounding his high school math teacher. Encouraged, Arvind began hitting the books in earnest, and graduated with flying colors.

Enchanted by a brochure showing a campus surrounded by snow-capped peaks – an image that brought to mind fond memories of challenging hikes he’d made in the Himalayan foothills – Arvind picked the University of Washington to pursue his master’s degree. Following stints at Microsoft and Akamai Technologies, Arvind co-founded two startups. Then two years ago, he walked away from a successful company to become an individual contributor at Google. He wanted the opportunity to dream big and create products that can be used and enjoyed by millions of people.

It’s great to have Arvind at Google, but we need more engineers like him – people with passion and ideals and a strong work ethic. (And, for the record, a gold-plated resume like Arvind’s, while it helps, is not an ironclad requirement for joining Google. We’ve been known to hire individuals whose career paths have taken some interesting turns.)

Would you be happy at Google? The only way to find out is to apply. Our engineers can use 20 percent of their time to pursue personal projects they’re passionate about. This freedom to innovate has created Google News, Google Suggest, AdSense for Content, and Orkut – products that might otherwise have taken entire startups to launch.

Click here to check out the opportunities at Google. See a job with your name written all over it? Please send your resume to dreamindia@google.com, with “Google Jobs” in the subject field of your email. Cute childhood pictures optional.